Alkaline Trio, Drug Church, Worriers Are the Best of All Worlds at Royal Oak Music Theatre

Alkaline Trio, Drug Church, and Worriers were the perfect touring mix, which stopped at Royal Oak Music Theatre on Friday, March 15.

 

Each band had a signature sound that rocked on their own energy level, starting with the indie vibes of Worriers, amping up the energy with Post-Hardcore band Drug Church, and finishing strong with fan favorites Alkaline Trio.

 

WORRIERS

 

 

We’d not heard of Worriers before, but sometimes concert experiences are also a great opportunity to find a new band to dive into. Worriers did just that with their charismatic playing style. Lauren Denitzio is the ringleader for the operation and Worriers is considered to be a solo project of sorts, with touring and studio musicians rocking assorted roles to create a full-fledged experience.

 

According to their Wikipedia page, the current run of musicians includes drummer Atom Willard, lead guitarist Frank Piegaro and bassist Allegra Anka (but another drummer was on the kit for this show). They have connections to Laura Jane Grace as a producer for their 2015 album ‘Imaginary Life,’ and they’ve since released multiple records with the newest being titled ‘Warm Blanket.’

 

Check out their full setlist here:

 

 

DRUG CHURCH

 

 

Drug Church was a new discovery for ACRONYM ZINE as well on Friday. The sound and energy of the band perfectly fit in with other bands we’ve recently covered like Neck Deep and Drain, even with the label of Post-Hardcore being the prominent descriptor of the band.

 

With four albums under their belt, there is stellar chameleon work between their sound. The lead singer Patrick Kindlon noted to the crowd after the first 3 songs that they knew that their energy might be a little bit much for fans of Alkaline Trio or Worriers, and offered to have security let some fans exit the front row if the audience’s dancing or moshing got to be too aggressive, and promised to have those spots saved for the fans if they chose to step out for a break. You’ve gotta love and respect bands like this that care about who’s watching them, and it gave us more reasons to listen to their catalog post-show.

 

Check out their setlist here:

 

 

ALKALINE TRIO

 

 

And finally, the moment arrived. The current lineup of Matt Skiba, Dan Andriano, and Atom Willard hit the stage, kicking off the set with the track “Hot For Preacher,” which is off the album the tour is named after, ‘Blood, Hair, And Eyeballs.’

 

The second track rang out for all the classic Alkaline Trio fans, “We’ve Had Enough.” From this writer’s era of growing up, “We’ve Had Enough” off of ‘Good Mourning’ is one of the quintessential tracks from their catalog, and it was an honor to hear it up close in the photo pit.

 

As they churned through their catalog with their stellar lighting and perfect delivery, you could hear the sound of fans singing every word throughout the venue. By the time “Calling All Skeletons” broke onto the setlist, fans were screaming the lyrics at the top of their lungs, along with crowd surfers partaking in one of the traditions of old.

 

Closing out the set, Alkaline Trio goes to their roots with “Radio,” which put a perfect, figurative blood-dripped bow on the evening.

 

Relive and listen to the full setlist here:

 

 

CATCH ALKALINE TRIO IN A CITY NEAR YOU:

03/21 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex *
03/23 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo *
03/24 – Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre *
03/25 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom *
03/27 – San Francisco, CA @ The Masonic *
03/29 – Los Angeles, CA @ Novo *
03/30 – Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas *

* = w/ Drug Church